God X Devil
by ginobi47
Summary: The Biblical God is Back! Horribly weakened as he might be, a life free from responisibilities isnt so bad. Follow the adventures of God as his curiosity leads him to explore everything, from the simple world of echi to the depths of hell itself. God/OCxSonaSitrixHarem (Coz God is awesome!)
1. Prologue

Prologue

-:-

Men are naive dreamers by nature. They dream for bigger and better things, even if those are far beyond their grasp.

This has been proven so many times through out the course of human history where many men have done amazing, and at times horrible, things for the sake of their dream.

If his motivation is solid and his resolve is strong, a man will endure any hardship just to achieve his goals.

Naturally, not everyone is fortunate enough to grasp such a future. After all, men that follow their dreams are mere gamblers in an extremely high stakes casino. They win some, they lose a lot.

Believe it or not, not even the beings of higher existence are immune to this mundane philosophy.

This is the main reason why so many died in the three way battle royal between Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils.

But that is all in a past long forgotten.

Nowadays, the world has been much more peaceful and an infinitely more entertaining place. No matter where you look, there is always something you never seen before.

"_One might think that us higher beings arent needed anymore"_ thought the teenager as he walks the street while lugging a fairly big survival back pack.

The teenager dons a short light brown hair, clear silver eyes and a physique you would normally find in a young man who has lived his life on the mountains. Just by looking, it is obvious that he isnt Japanese, but if asked for his nationality, he would not be able to reply. He doesnt know what he doesnt know.

Based on his current appearance of a blue demin pants with lots rips in it and his AC/DC shirt which he acquired when he spotted it flowing down a river, most people would think of him as some kind of a punk or delinquent.

As an example, most of the people he walked by gave him a look of disgust.

"_It's not like I want to look like this... This happens to be the last set of semi-clean clothes I have."_ the teenager complained as he continued his march towards his destination.

His destination: a certain apartment that belonged to an old acquaintance and friend.

His reason: pretty much just like every other celestial/infernal being... To have fun.

Okay, maybe that's not the right way to put it.

In the long forgotten past, he was too strick, too inflexible, too unforgiving. He was in a position that did not allow any sort of weakness, thus it cant be helped if he ended up becoming such a boring person.

After returning to the land of the living, he found out just how much he was missing. In his great dedication to the fulfillment of his dream, he gave himself tunnel vision and failed to see just how much the world has change.

He then began walking the world, learning and experiencing what a mundane life has to offer. During the course of his travels, he has become many many things except one... A normal teenager.

With not a single currency to his name, he had to work to get by. It was a truly interesting experience if he says so himself, but that didnt change the fact that working at his (physical) age was quite abnormal. Many of his colleagues at different workplaces always said one thing in common:

"A kid your age should be at school!"

Taking the words of his peers into heart, he headed for the only place he knows of where his kind can fit right in... Kouh Academy in Japan

It took him 50 years of traveling (though it's mostly because his curiosity keeps getting him sidetracked) but he was almost there.

After walking into the city, he made his way to a fairly high class looking apartment complex. He headed up to one of the higher floors and knocked on the door of someone he hasnt seen in a very long time.

After 10 minutes of repeated knocking, the teenager loses patience.

"Hey Azazel! I know you're in there! If you dont open up, I'll blow the door off its hinges!" said the teenager as he raised his voice.

A few seconds later, the door unlocks and a tall man in his twenties appeared.

"We havent seen each other in a long time and this is how you greet your old friend? I see that your still as harsh as ever" said Azazel in a laid back manner.

"Save the melodramatics for later" replied the teenager as he rushes into the room. "Where's your bathroom?"

"Ah... Call of nature huh... Second door on the left."

Without a moments pause, the teenager drops his survival bag with a loud thud and rushes to the toilet.

A few seconds later, relief...

After finishing his business, the teenager and Azazel took a seat on the living room.

"Sorry about that. I've been holding it in for a while now" said the teenager with a hint of embarrassment.

"You could have just used one of those public toilets." replied Azazel

"That's true... But you know how it is when you're too excited at something. You complete forget about everything else."

"Ha ha ha. Indeed. I can relate to that. I get too into it when researching on a very interesting subject" Azazel then makes a serious face. "Then let's get to the matter at hand... First off, what should I call you? El-Shaddai? Yahweh? Elohim? Emmanuel? Jesus? Or maybe we should go with the good old fashioned God? Seriously old man, you have way too many nicknames"

"Let's not use any of those. I may have been **God** once, but that's all ancient history now" replied the teenager with a hint of sadness in his voice. " Right now, I'm back to back to basics. Using the terms of those RPGs you love so much, I'm at new game plus. All my stats went back to level 1 a few years ago, but I still got the knowledge."

Upon hearing the teenager's words, Azazel bursts out laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! The one who ruled over heaven, The leader of Angels, THE God, using gamer's lingo? Awesome!" Azazel roars in laughter.

"I've been living in this world for quite some time now. I'm bound to pick up some knowledge here and there"

"I know... But still... Pfft... HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Eventually, Azazel calmed down after 5 minutes of intense laughter.

"Let's leave your name for later. I'm curious though, can you tell me exactly how you resurrected?" asked Azazel. "If you dont want to answer, that's fine."

"Hmm... Well you are going to let me stay here, so I guess I dont mind." replied the teenager. "But promise me, do not tell **anyone** of my existence. Is it a deal?"

"Naturally. Having the monopoly of certain kinds of information is a pleasure in its own way"

The teenager then began the tale of his origin, something of which not even the angels know about.

Originally, the God of the Bible was not god-like at all. He was but a mere low level earth spirit with no name, no particular fame and almost no power. He wasnt even human to begin with.

But despite that, the lowly earth spirit dreamed of making a better world. A world with no suffering and hatred. A world where everyone can be happy.

A naive and pure dream, yet a very powerful source of drive for the lowly earth spirit.

By abusing the fact that he is smarter than most, he found multitude of means to become stronger and wiser. It was a long and painful process, but eventually, the lowly earth spirit became **God**.

He then found a way to alter his original ability (rebirth) to allow him to create.

As to what happened next... Well, read the Genesis part of the Bible.

The point of the teenager's story is simple: He is a spirit with the sole ability of rebirth, thus to him, death is not permanent.

"I see... So that's how it is..." Azazel nodded in understanding. "But why did it take so long for your rebirth this time around?"

"Well, it has something to do with the soul. While the body is easy to reincarnate because it is reduced to its original state, the soul continues to grow endlessly." replied the teenager. "The larger the soul, the more time it would take. Now imagine how long it would take to reincarnate the soul of a God."

"I see... That makes sense then" said Azazel "Well, for now, let's go out and celebrate!"

Azazel then dragged the teenager to a local liquor bar and shoved a bottle of alcohol down the lad's throat. For someone who used to be God, the teenager never developed the desire to drink alcohol in his entire existence. He never found the appeal of the bitter taste and a head splitting hangover the following day.

God was effectively out cold with 3 gulps of hard liquor. Quite embarrassing really.

-:-

**2 weeks later**

**Kouh Academy**

Highschool life proceeded exactly as depicted in the manga's that the teenager had read.

The entrance exam wasnt much of a challenge, but the teenager did feel guilty that he possessed centuries worth of knowledge. It felt like he was cheating, but Azazel insisted that it was fine.

The opening ceremony was exactly as boring as depicted in many highschool mangas that he had read. To the lad, it was also a very educational experience. He listened to every word and understood the main point of the speech. He concluded that the speech was truly a waste of time.

Self introduction was an interesting experience as well.

The teenager introduced himself as Hebikami Ryotaro, or Ryo for short. While he thought that he delivered a standard self introduction, the teacher pointed out that he was as stiff as a rock.

"_I can still get nervous at my age?... Who knew?"_

Class was equal parts boring and interesting.

Indeed, he knew nearly every subject matter like it was the back of his hand, but it was interesting to have others teach him how it's done instead of having to figure it out all by himself.

All in all, God/Hebikami Ryotaro is looking forward to his highschool life.

-:-

**Authors Notes**

\- The events of this fic takes place 1 year before the Highschool DxD.

\- This story runs parallel to the DxD story line without interferring with the source material.

\- Focused on the Sitri Peerage, expect a lot of stuff that didnt exist in the original.

\- Expect some characters to be removed or shuffled around in order to accomodate for the OCs. Also expect some changes in certain storylines due to the OCs

\- If you are the seriously religious type of person who thinks making fun of the Biblical God is a heresy, then sucks to be you! That's exactly what Im planning to do!

\- This is a harem fanfic, coz harem is what Highschool DxD is all about.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

God gets schooled

-:-

**Somewhere in the city**

**Past Midnight**

Humans are amazing.

Despite their inherit design flaws of pitiful physical strength, limited sense range and lack of natural weapons, they have done what the other races have failed to do: Rule the world.

With cunning and ingenuity, humanity now stands on top of the food chain and then some. Amazing how a bit of brain power can go a long way.

"_It seemed like it was only yesterday that these guys could barely feed themselves during the dry season. Now look at them. Drinkable water in every house, easy means of communication and buildings that could easily reach the sky... They grow up so fast" _thought Hebikami Ryotaro as he gazed at the wonders all around him.

While he has seen these things many times during his 50 years of wandering all over the world, he'll never get sick of internet and television.

Immeasurable amounts of information from all over the world, easily accessible with just a click of a button. For someone who enjoys gathering useless knowledge for the sake of simply knowing them, internet has become Ryo's primary source of entertainment.

Got a bit side tracked there. Back to the matter at hand.

As of the moment, Ryo has been patrolling for the few hours in search of a Stray Devil that has wondered into the city.

Ryo, more than anyone, understood the danger of Stray Devils. Most of his long life, he has seen these people descend into madness due to their inability to control their power.

As much as he wanted to give them a second chance, the Devils were right about them being too dangerous to be left alive.

He was naive back then, so he couldnt help but act like your cliche anime protagonist. Ryo believes that it is called as Chuunibyou in moder times. Whatever it may be call, it was an embarrassing stage of his extremely long life.

For now, he agreed to hunt and exterminate the Stray Devil before it causes any harm.

Unfortunately, Ryo is but an empty husk of his former self. While he still has a bit of power, no longer does he posses the might of God. As of the moment, he should be equal to the middle class devils/angels/fallen angels.

Ryo needed something to compensate this massive downgrade. Thankfully, his good old friend Azazel's hobby was the solution.

Ryo is now a possessor of an Artificial Sacred Gear that was custom made just for him.

While he was a bit pissed off at Azazel for pirating something that he created, such a thing can easily be forgiven.

God has given everyone of his children the chance to make use of his creations. If they found a way to improve it, then it is their right and privilege to do so.

And besides, Ryo was only able to recover his basic abilities over the last 50 years. While he has the knowledge to perform all of his previous abilities, his body is incapable of withstanding the pressure it generates.

If his estimates are correct, it would take at least 200 years for him to get back 1/4 of his original might.

That is why he is thankful for Azazel's hobby. He badly needs the power boost if he wants to have any chance against the Stray Devil.

While deep in thought, a sudden chill crept up his spine. It was a strange mixture of killing intent, rage and hunger.

"_Looks like its near."_

Ryo follows his instincts and ran towards the source of his discomfort.

About 10 minutes of running, he finally arrived in an abandon warehouse.

"_Seriously... These guys really lacks originality. An abandon warehouse is the most cliche hide out of choice."_

He entered the warehouse quickly while keeping to the shadows. He made a silent sweep of the premises until he found his target at the very middle of the warehouse.

It was a bear-like being with jet black fur and a mouth at the center of its chest. Based on appearance alone, it looked like a power-type of monster.

"_Hmm... A specialist in close quarters combat huh... Let's see if I can end it before it even begins"_

He picked a target and roared.

"**ROCK BULLET**"

As the name states, Ryo's magic summons a small rock and launches it at high speeds. At his current level of strength, Ryo is capable of firing off a rock bullet that rivals a moder day handgun minus the loud gunshot sound. This is his most basic and probably only attack magic until his body is strong enough to handle the **Spear of Light**.

As expected of a sneak attack, the Rock Spear hits the bear-like demon in the back, causing it to fall face first into the ground.

Unfortunately for Ryo, the demon didnt fall with his initial strike.

It is shameful to admit, but earth based magic are well known for their weak-mediocre attack power. This is the main reason why Ryo, as God, worked long and hard to learn light based magic.

"THAT HURT YOU BASTARD!" the demon roared with a voice full of rage

An understandable reaction.

The demon recovered and lunged at Ryo with every intention of turning him into dinner.

"_Holy crap he's fast!"_

However, Ryo was ready for it.

Ryo left arm suddenly glowed, and barely a second later, the bear demon slams into a massive wall of dark blue steel. It was a large round shield with pure gold gem in the middle of it.

The bear demon created some distance while it recovers from the head on collision with the shield.

Presenting Hebikami Ryotaro's Artificial Sacred Gear, **Serpent Scales**. One of the extremely few heavy defense oriented Sacred Gears in existence.

Apparently its creation was inspired from the **Boosted Gear **and the **Divine Dividing **which performs a certain function every 10 seconds.

If Ryo could recall correctly, those 2 belonged to the Longinus class of Sacred Gear, hence among the strongest God has ever created.

It seems that Azazel is trying to make an artificial Longinus... That man was never the one to think small.

The biggest reason why the Serpent Scales can never match up to the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing is simply because of the relatively low class monster that is sealed within it.

This actually suites Ryo just fine.

"_Well then, let's see if Azazel's craftmanship is as impressive as they say"_

"Let's do this Serpent Scales!"

**GUARD**

"DIE!" the demon roared as he swung his claws at Ryo.

A loud bang echoed through out the warehouse.

Compared to the bear's accidental headbutt with the shield, his swings generated much more force. Despite that, Ryo barely felt anything from it.

"_A Sacred Gear that doubles the user's defensive power every 10 seconds huh? Hehehe. Talk about piracy Azazel."_

The bear demon lets loose a savage flurry of claws, punches and hammer fists but Ryo skillfully blocks each and every one of them with his shield.

While defending, Ryo sneaks a few Rock Bullets amids the confusion. They might not do a lot of damage, but this suites Ryo just fine.

With little to no damage received in his part while dishing out some acceptable counters, Ryo is steadily tipping the tide into his favor.

To make matters worse for the Bear, his attacks are slowly becoming ineffective due to Ryo's continuos use of **GUARD**.

After a few more seconds of intense exchange, the Bear demon seem to have realized that he was fighting a horribly gimped battle of attrition against a near invulnerable opponent.

The demon decided to run away.

A smart choice, but he was unlucky that Ryo was his opponent.

"**OVER GROWTH**" said Ryo slammed his fist on the ground

Out of nowhere, vines and tree routes sprouted from the ground and bound themselves to the Demon, thus rooting him into the ground.

The Demon ripped through the plants with some difficulty, thus it wouldnt take him long to free himself from the trap. Unfortunately for him, the plant's growth is abnormally fast, hence no matter how much vines he ripped apart, atleast 3 more quickly took its place.

While Earth Magic has been known to posses humiliatingly weak offensive powers, no magic can best it when it comes to Attrition Warfare.

With multitudes of spells that can stop opponents, bolster defense and heal allies, no one can outlast an Earth Mage.

"Game Over Kid"

Ryo activated the Serpent Scales only offensive skill.

**VENGANCE**

A massive etherial snake spawned from the shield and charged towards the Bear Demon. It then wrapped around the Demon and crushed it via constriction.

It was a nasty little ability because it cant kill its enemy quickly. You could hear the bones snapping, the Bear screaming in agony and the very vivid explosion of the body as if it was a tomato.

It was effective but unsettling.

"_So _**VENGANCE **_absorbs all the damage I received, including the ones that were canceled out due to my constantly increasing defense, and launches it back to the enemy with at least 3 times more force. Not bad for a pirated idea."_

With that said, the battle drew to a close.

Ryo was quite satisfied with how it went down. Despite the fact that he hasnt fought since his death, he wasnt as rusty as he thought.

He was, indeed, horribly weaker than expected, but his instincts that led him to godhood was basically in tact.

"_Better get home. I still got to attend classes in a few hours"_

Ryo exited the warehouse made his way back to Azazel's apartment.

On the way back, he took a small detour to a nearby vending machine and got himself a random drink. He made sure to pick a drink he has never tried before simply because he never tried it before.

This time around, his curiosity has led him to pick a canned juice called **Fortified Natto Extract**

"_Rotten soybean juice... Humanity, what will you think of next?" _Ryo thought in amusement.

He took a swig of the mysterious fluid and quickly realized that Fortified Natto Extract may not be the best after battle drink.

While forcing himself to drink the atrocious concoction, he suddenly felt powerful gaze from behind.

He quickly resummoned his Serpent Scales, turned around and readied himself for a possible attack.

Defying his expectation, the attack didnt come.

He carefully scanned the surroundings and spotted the source of the gaze.

It was a hawk perched on top of a nearby telephone pole. What made this creature stand out was its blueish transparent body.

"_A hawk made out of water magic... How peculiar"_

Ryo was able to deduce a few things just by seeing the hawk.

First, there is a possibility of mages within this city. If so, then being cautious is expected of them since mages not affiliated with the church are considered heretics.

It's amazing how man can be so cruel to his fellow man.

Next, and the most likely answer, are devils.

Azazel did warn Ryo of 2 high class devils that made their base within the city. While he did say that they are peace loving individuals, he did stressed to Ryo that he should never pick a fight with them.

In Ryo's current state, he wont last against a full blown assault against 2 high class devils and their minions.

He would really like to avoid dying again. Resurrection takes a long long time, and he would prefer if he could not experience it so soon.

For now, he unsummoned the Serpent Scales and went back home with his horribly tasting juice.

He wasnt sure if it was the right thing to do, but he can expect that he'll be under surveillance for a while.

"_I hope this wont stab me in the back later on... Oh who am I kidding, of course it will!... *sigh*"_

-:-

**At the same time**

**Kuoh Academy Student Council Room**

Normally, students are not allowed to stay in school so late. It is for their own safety and for security purposes that this rule is enacted.

However, this rule only applies to **normal** students and a few of Kuoh Academy's Student Council was anything but **normal**.

Behind the fancy desk ill befitting a student, sat Sona Sitri aka Shitori Souna, a 2nd year student, a high class devil and the rightful heir of the Sitri clan. She currently holds the position of Vice President of Kuoh Academy's Student Council, hence the reason why she has the keys to the room.

Along with her is Shinra Tsubaki, the current Student Council Secretary, a long time friend and Sona's most trusted ally. She holds the rank of Queen and, unfortunately, the only member of Sona's Peerage.

She has been stressing on this issue for quite some time now.

Sona was not blessed with the opportunity to stumble on exceptional talents like her good friend Rias Gremory.

It is quite enviable that Rias was able to recruit 5 promising individuals before she could even enter highschool. What a lucky girl she is.

Sona, on the other hand, had been experiencing an unlucky streak until now.

Upon entering highschool, she has yet to find any potential within and above her year level. It was quite frustrating really.

Her first year went by without any major events.

Her luck finally started to turn her way during her second year.

In order to get a better vantage point for possible recruits, Sona ran and won the Vice President slot of the Student Council.

From there, she was able to access a large amount of information pertaining to the 1st years.

There was quite a large number of candidates and she plans on recruiting them once she has a better grasp of their personalities. She wants to be 100 percent sure that they'll say yes.

Turning into a devil might sound terrifying to some.

For now, recruitment was put on hold due to a rumor that there was a Stray Devil within the city boundaries.

She wanted to gather info on it before she would ask Rias to exterminate it. As much as she hates passing this responsibility to her friends, Sona's military might is severely lacking at the moment.

At the very least, Sona wanted to gather info on its location in order for Rias to have an easier time hunting it. It was the least she could do.

This was where she really believed that her luck is finally bouncing back.

With the eyes of one of her summoned creatures connected to her crystal ball, both Sona and Tsubaki was able to witness a young man slaying the Stray Devil.

"What do you think Tsubaki?" Sona asked her bespectacled friend.

"I'm actually confused right now." replied Tsubaki. "Is he really human?"

"Yeah... I was wondering the same thing." Sona nodded in agreement

It wasnt rare to see humans slaying demons. With the help of some artifacts and a lot of training, humans are more than capable of destroying any supernatural being they meet.

What makes the young man so perplexing to both Sona and Tsubaki was his way of fighting.

"It isnt really rare for humans to use magic. Human mages have been doing well in reverse engineering the spells of higher beings. What makes this guy weird is that he has been casting at very high speeds during his fight" Tsubaki thought out loud.

"Yeah... I can cast spells that fast, but casting spells while being hit? That's an impressive feat" replied Sona. "And besides, I've been wondering if he's actually casting spells."

"Huh? What do you mean Sona? Isnt it obvious that he is using Earth Magi?"

"Hmm... Maybe I phrased that wrong. Its not like his spells are unique and all, but its his way of casting them."

"I still dont get it." Tsubaki replied in confusion.

"When we cast magic, we normally gather up power, shape it, then the end result is a spell. But based on what I have seen, he seemed to be executing the spell first, then it gets assembled in mid flight. Its like throwing all the ingredients for chicken noodle soup up in the air. By the time it lands, it's already cooked and ready to serve."

"I see... I understand. But what is so special about a different method that arrives at the same conclusion?"

"For now, probably none. In the future, I cant say. For now, this young man's ability to endure great punishment is an asset. I want him in our peerage" said Sona with great determination in her eyes.

"I see. Then we better start looking for him then." Tsubaki replied with enthusiasm.

It took them an hour but they were able to find out that the young mans name is Hebikami Ryotaro, a second year student of Kuoh Academy just like them. It seemed like he only started this year, thus the reason why neither of them knew about him.

Truly, Sona Sitri's luck was finally looking up.

-:-

**1 Week Later**

**Kuoh Academy**

**Lunch Time**

Ryo's lunch revolved on 3 basic actions.

First, buy food from the canteen.

Due to his habit of trying things that are unfamiliar to him, Ryo has successfully taste tested every item on the menu during his first month.

It was a bit sad that they barely change the menu, hence Ryo was forced to just cycle through it in order to keep his taste buds interested.

Since they were all good, Ryo didnt mind eating them on a daily basis

Second, find a shade under a comfy tree outside the class room and read a book.

Since internet is not allowed within school premises, this has been Ryo's primary form of entertainment.

While he has the knowledge of humanity's progress saved in his brain, this only applies to things that he once considered necessary for human life to continue. These topics are mathematics, construction, agriculture, alchemy, history, etc.

Now, he has decided to focus on more mundane things such as art, music, poetry and such. While he cant understand what's so good about it, he decided to try to see it from the eyes who can appreciate it.

For now, he is reading **Snow White and the Seven Dwarves**. It's a typical save the princess type of story, but it is one of the most famous fairytales in the world. If that is the case, then this must be worth reading.

The last thing on his lunch activities was to reflect on what he has read.

Humanity has always been good at hiding lessons deep within the most mundane things.

An example of this is the Cross. He has no idea who started it, but it eventually became the symbol for the catholic church.

As God, he was thankful that this allowed his believers to feel more intimate with him. However, he did wonder if they realized that the Cross was once considered one of the cruelest torture device created by man?

As long as humanity is happy, God will keep his complaints to himself.

Anyway, the reason why Ryo does this things is simply because he has been out of touch with humanity ever since he took the seat as God.

It might sound rude, but Ryo once thought of humanity as nothing more than a 7 year old kid with a loaded gun in their hands. They need protection and guidance, else they would be their own ruin.

Of course, he realized the fact that this was not the case.

After his death and resurrection, Ryo understood that humanity is all sorts of amazing. He now understood why so many higher beings went out their way to descend to the human world.

But enough of that.

Just when Ryo finished his usual musing at the glories of human ingenuity, he suddenly realized that his highschool life was in a crisis.

"I've been in this school for 6 months now... Yet I'm still eating lunch alone?..."

Yes... Despite his great efforts to understand humanity as a whole, Ryo has yet to make progress at forming the bond that is called friendship.

"How could this be! I have been sure to be polite at all times. Or maybe that doesnt work well with teenagers compared to adults? ... Yes... I have seen many times that there is a certain level of rambunctiousness when 2 close friends interact with each other. I have also observed that adults dont do this horse playing because they think its childish. However, I certainly cant just act like a we are already friends. That would be too creepy... "

A thought crossed his mind.

It is also possible that his environment, Kuoh Academy, has adopted a co-ed system, hence the large difference between the male and female population.

As a matter of fact, he is one of only 5 males in his class.

He once read that girls tend to stick together.

Could this be one of those cases?

Are they isolating the men because they feel unsafe?

If so, then Ryo should have joined the other men in his class. That would have been the perfect opportunity to make friends.

However, because of his thirst for knowledge, Ryo has completely missed the chance.

"Dammit! I was careless!" said Ryo as he slammed his fist into the tree. " Most people would have their own groups by now. I cant just force my way into their tightly knit group and expect everything to be alright ... *sigh*... Where did I go wrong..."

"Shall I answer that question for you?" said a young womans voice.

In Ryo's fit of anxiety, he failed to notice the presence of a young woman who was already standing right in front of him.

She was beautiful young lady who sported short black hair and a slim build. Beneath her thin rimmed glasses were sharp violet eyes that oozed with power and confidence. Despite not smiling, the girl is the perfect example of a strict beauty.

He knows her.

Everyone in school knows her.

Because of that reason, Ryo quickly collected himself and put his game face on.

"Shitori Souna. I must admit, I'm kind of perplexed that the Vice President of the Student Council just went out of her to talk to me. Have I done something wrong?" replied Ryo in a formal manner.

Much to his surprise, Shitori Souna sighed in annoyance.

"It's that attitude that keeps you from making friends." replied Souna. "That facade that addresses everyone in a formal manner is making the other students uncomfortable. Its like you're treating them as a business client that needs to be delt with, rather than a friend that you are will to hang out with"

Her words shocked Ryo.

"I see... So it really was the way that I interact with others..." Ryo nodded in agreement. "I cant change the way I am now, but I will find a way to compensate for this error. I thank you for your advice madam Vice President."

Ryo quickly gathered his things and prepared to leave.

Truth be told, he was a bit uneasy that Shitori Souna suddenly talked to him.

Whenever a big fish takes interest on a nobody, there is bound to be an ulterior motive or two.

With that in mind, Ryo wanted to get away as fast as possible.

However, Souna grabbed his shoulder before he could get passed her.

"Hold on. I still need to talk to you" said Souna in a serious voice.

"Cant we do this after school miss Vice President? Lunch is about to end after all" replied Ryo

"Dont worry. Tsubaki is already talking to your teacher as we speak. She'll get you exempted for being late."

"_Holy Crap... She got all her bases covered"_

Ryo could think of a number of reasons why Souna wanted to talk to him. One of those reasons might force Ryo to fight an unknown number of opponents. That is something he would really like to avoid.

He was in quite a pickle

After doing some quick thinking, Ryo decided to play along for now.

"If you are willing to go that far, then I guess the issue must be really important" replied Ryo while doing his best not to let his anxiety show.

"You could say that. For now, lets head for the student council room. We'll talk there."

With that said, Ryo followed Souna lead and headed to the student council room.

Upon entering, he noticed another famous person who is well known in Kuoh Academy

"Did you get permission Tsubaki?" asked Souna

"Yes. Hebikami-san will have no trouble with the teachers" replied Shinra Tsubaki

"Good work" Souna then turned to Ryo. "For now, lets take a seat."

Ryo followed her orders and took a seat on a fancy looking chair. It was so fancy that Ryo was wondering where the Student Council got the money for such high end furnitures.

While Ryo was observing his environment, Tsubaki placed a cup of tea in front of him

"Please drink." said Souna who now sat right across him

"I'll pass for now." replied Ryo. "Anyway, what is this important thing you want to talk to me about?"

While saying this, Ryo began stealthily gathering power within himself. He has a gut feeling that things are not what they seem. He preferred not to take any chances.

"Straight to the point. I like that." said Souna as she straightened herself. "First and foremost, I would like to thank you for your help with the Stray Devil last wee-"

The moment Ryo heard the word Stray Devil, his body instantly moved into action.

He jumped behind the chair, summoned Serpent Scales and readied himself for combat.

Souna and Tsubaki reacted to his sudden movement by instinctively taking a stance.

Tsubaki summoned a naginata while Souna gathered water magic in her hands.

For a few seconds, there was a tense and silent standoff until Souna broke the ice.

"Please calm down both of you! Tsubaki, please sheath your weapon." said Souna as the water in her hands disappears

"But..." replied Tsubaki while keeping her eyes on Ryo

"I understand your caution but he wont feel at ease if we're armed and ready."

"... fine..." said Tsubaki as the naginata disappears without a trace.

"As for you Hebikami Ryotaro, we have no intention of hurting you. Please calm down and hear us out" said Souna

Normally, this would be the part in mangas where the protagonist calms down and listens to the other sides' story.

Unfortunately, Ryo was cautious by nature.

He quickly scanned the area and found 2 possible exits. He could either jump off the window or smash through the door.

He wasnt sure how many of Souna's underlings might be lurking by, thus he didnt lower his guard one bit. He is still very weak at the moment and he would really like not to die so soon.

"I know this might sound rude but just tell me what you want" said Ryo while keeping his shield ready.

"I see... I seemed to have misread your personality. I pegged you for the calm type, but I guess I was wrong" replied Souna with a bitter smile on her face

"Cut the melodramatics" said Ryo in a surprisingly cold voice

"I apologize. I called you here to ask for your help."

"Help? In what?"

"Since you seem to be familiar with the existence of devils, are you familiar with the Evil Pieces and the Rating Game?" asked Souna

Those were 2 words that Ryo didnt expect in this conversation.

Evil Pieces- used by devils to turn another race into reincarnated devils. Normally used to replenish their numbers. It seems to be based on chess.

Rating Game- some sort of tournament between High Class devils and their peerage.

While Ryo is familiar with the terms and their definition, he hasnt really seen it for himself.

"I heard of them before. So? What does this have to do with me?" asked Ryo

"Let's cut to the chase then. I would like to recruit you into my peerage" said Souna much to Ryo's surprise.

At that point, Ryo was now able to relax.

He unsummoned his Serpents Scale and returned to his seat. Truth be told, his bad habit wanting to experience new things is currently getting the best of him.

"I'm listening." said Ryo as he took a sip of the tea prepared by Tsubaki. "Hmm... This is good tea. Is this Darjeeling?"

"Oh? I'm surprised that you can tell. Most people cant even tell tea apart by taste alone"

"I had the pleasure of working in a plantation back when I was in India. They grew Darjeelings and Assams back then" replied Ryo as he felt a bit of nostalgia.

"_Its been 25 years since I've tasted Darjeeling this well brewed. It reminds me of the good old days"_

"I'm pleased its to your liking then." said Souna. "But lets get down to business shall we?"

Ryo nodded while he basked in the taste of a finely brewed cup of tea.

"First allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Sona Sitri. Shitori Souna is my alias in this world. You may call me Sona." Sona then signals Tsubaki.

"My name is Shinra Tsubaki. Queen of Sona's peerage" said Tsubaki with bow.

"I see. If that's the case then I should introduce myself. My name is Hebikami Ryotaro. A pleasure to meet you" said Ryo

"I take that this is a sign that you might be interested in joining my peerage?" asked Sona.

Ryo then began to weigh his options.

First up, he is quite curious what is life like being a devil. At the very least, it seemed to be much more free than heaven.

Next thing to consider is if Ryo has any intention of becoming God once again. The answer: Nope.

While he didnt mind it much back then, he now knows how suffocatingly uptight being the leader of the angels is.

Maybe being God isnt all what its cracked up to be.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasnt... But I need to talk to someone first before making a decision." replied Ryo

"I see. Thats good. Too be honest, I'm quite desperate for some talent in my group." said Sona with a face of relief.

"Desperate? Why?"

"If you join, my peerage goes from one to two members" said Sona with a face of self mockery.

"Hmm... I guess its not easy to find people who can fight in this peaceful world"

"Right. Well for now, I suggest you go home and talk to this person you need to talk to." said Sona. "I pray to hear a favorable response from you."

"Hold on, arent we still in the middle of the day? What about school?" asked Ryo.

"Like I said, Tsubaki already asked your teacher for permission."

With Sona's signal, Tsubaki brought Ryo his bag.

Ryo was very impressed because Sona Sitri has successfully read him like a book.

"Wow... You really do have all your bases covered." said the amazed Ryo

"Fu fu. Naturally"

-:-

**Later that evening**

**Azazel's Apartment**

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my spleen! You're killing me! Pfftt... HAHAHAHAHAHA"

For the last 10 minutes, Hebikami Ryotaro has been laughed at by Azazel.

Now he knew that such a thing was going to happen if he brought up the issue of becoming a Devil, but it does not change the fact that being laughed at is infuriating.

"10 minutes of laughing... Arent you a bit over reacting, Azazel?"

"How can I NOT laugh? The God! The Mighty Smiter! The destroyer of evil, wants to be a Devil! If that isnt funny, then the world is boring!" said Azazel who didnt even bother to hide how entertained he is.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my sense of humor is bland and outdated. Even if you tell me that it is funny, I wont understand it." replied Ryo while puffing his chest.

"Oi old man, that is not something to be proud of."

"Whatever. Just tell me your opinion about me becoming a devil" said Ryo

In response, Azazel made a very rare serious face.

"This is just my opinion so I could be wrong, but I dont think there will be any problems. Something unnatural might happen, but I see no reason not to do it."

"Really? Why?" asked Ryo

"Old man, you probably know the answer to that already. Why bother asking me?" asked Azazel.

"Because no one is perfect. Even God is prone to error. While I do have some knowledge on the subject, you have a better understanding when it cames to Evil Pieces. It doesnt hurt to have an expert opinion, right?" replied Ryo

"Have it your way old man. Let me get into the boring details then"

Evil Pieces are powerful artifacts that allow High Class Devils to increase their numbers. That much is already known.

The beauty of this system is the fact that, unlike reincarnating into Angelhood, becoming a reincarnated Devil has relatively few restrictions.

There is no lower limit to whom can be reincarnated into a Devil.

Unfortunately, High Class Devils are only allowed to have 15 Evil Pieces, thus they need to strict at choosing process if they want to maximize their pieces.

"Our main concern lies in the fact that Evil Pieces are not capable of reincarnating God Level beings such as your past" said Azazel. "However, I believe there will be no problems because you lost all that godly power and reverted back into your original form, a Spirit"

A Spirit is the most basic supernatural life form in existence. They are nothing more than a clump of magical power that takes the form of a certain aspect. They are normally without will or personality and are only capable of performing actions based on their aspect.

On rare occasions, a spirit can gain a personality and a bit of power, but thats about it.

Ryo/God was an abnormality and one of a kind that was able to do beyond what any spirit is capable of doing.

"So you think that a spirit-made human body has no negative effect on the reincarnation process?" Asked Ryo

"Evil Pieces can reincarnate a Dragon for gods sake! There is absolutely no way it cant reincarnate a lowly earth spirit, no matter how strong it is!"

"I see I see... Good to know"

From the looks of things, nothing is keeping Ryo from becoming a Devil.

"I've been meaning to ask though, what's it like to be a Devil?" asked Ryo

"Im a Fallen Angel you know?"

"But if I could recall, Devils are beings that follow their desires. You fell because of following your desires right? Then you should be a good source of info" replied Ryo

"Ha ha ha. True enough! Well then, let me tell you about the worldly desire that I followed most!" said Azazel with an evil glint in his eye.

From that point until bed time, Azazel tried his very best to explain to Ryo the amazing wonders of Sex.

While Ryo still couldnt understand what was so good about the reproduction process, he did his best to listen and learn.

The corruption of God has now begun

-:-

**The Next Day**

**After School**

**Kuoh Academy Student Council Room**

Once again, Ryo stood in front of the door leading to the Student Council Room.

He hasnt entered the room yet because he is excited, nervous, curious and reluctant all at the same time.

"_Once I step through this doors, I'll kiss the path back to godhood goodbye. On the other hand, I am quite curious what's it like to live by following your desires."_

As God, he didnt have any time for himself, so it isnt much of a surprise that he has nearly no idea when he suddenly gained freedom.

For now, he unconsciously performs the action that he has been doing since his God days. He learns whatever he can learn.

On the bright side, he has now the freedom to chose what to learn. Even if it is a knowledge with no use what so ever, it is by Ryo's decision that he learned it.

This alone made him incredibly happy.

But now, he is about to take the first step to something that is completely foreign to him.

He is about to learn what are these powerful desires that has brought the ruin of both men and angels alike.

"_Never have I thought that I would do the stuff that I once condemned... The thought makes me giddy! ~Im such a bad god!"_

After taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, the door opened and a familiar bespectacled beauty meets him

"Ah. Good afternoon Tsubaki" said Ryo which made Tsubaki cringe.

"Good afternoon to you to. Arent you a bit overly familiar?" replied Tsubaki with her ever scowling face.

It took 5 full seconds until Ryo understood what was wrong.

"Oh right. Japanese call others by their last names until their relationship becomes more intimate." replied Ryo. " I'm still trying to get used to this new environment. I apologize for any discomfort."

"As long as you understand. For now, come in and wait for the Vice President to arrive." replied the stoic Tsubaki

Ryo occupied the seat that he sat on yesterday.

Then there was silence.

While Ryo was never the sharpest wit in school, even he could understand that this silence was awkward.

"Oh by the way Tsuba- I mean Shinra, can I ask you something?" said Ryo in an attempt to break the ice.

For some reason, Tsubaki was staring daggers at him. It seems that he has done something wrong again.

"You forgot adding honorifics after my last name." coldly replied Tsubaki

"... Oh right. Forgive me Shinra-san."

"As long as you understand. Now, what's your question"

"I understand that you and Sona are both Devils. But does that also apply to the rest of the Student Council?" asked Ryo as he looked at the ever vacant Student Council President seat.

"No. Only me and Sona are devils as of the moment. We plan to make the Student Council as our base of operations in the future once Sona becomes the President"

"Oh? It's not 100% Sona will win the- ... On second thought she does have that Je ne sais quois that makes a leader." replied Ryo after a bit of thought.

"Je nen-what now?" asked Tsubaki in confusion

"Je ne sais quois is french for I dont know what. I believe it is normally used to express a certain something that cant be easily described. In Sona's case, it would be that something that makes people gather around her." said Ryo

"Wow... To be honest, I pegged you for an airhead. I'm quite impressed that you know French" replied the impressed Tsubaki.

"Ha ha! Impressive isnt it? That is one of 15 french words that I know off. I'll be speechless if you make me speak fluent french though." said Ryo while puffing his chest

"Pfft, HAHAHAHA! That's not something to be proud of you know?" Tsubaki laughed out loud, much to Ryo's surprise

Ryo thought that Tsubaki was a person with a cold and calculative personality. It seems that he truly has a lot to learn about intrapersonal interactions.

Never the less, it was thanks to his unintentional joke that the mood lightened between the two of them.

Speaking to Tsubaki became much easier.

Sure, she was still quite stiff when it comes to expressing herself. Never the less, they passed the time by having some light conversation.

After about 20 or so minutes later, Sona finally arrived.

"Well this is a rare sight. Its been a while since I've seen you engage in idle chatter Tsubaki" said an amused Sona

"I cant help it. It seems like Hebikami-san is quite a knowledgeable person. Its quite rare for someone to have such a wealth of knowledge about evil spirits" said Tsubaki

Naturally, Ryo refrained from informing Tsubaki that the reason of his large knowledge was due to his absurdly long life span. It was only proper for a God to understand the things that he might end up fighting against. No harm in knowing what to do before hand.

"Well, I'm pleased that both of you are getting along splendidly." said Sona entered the room.

The first thing that cauth Ryo's eyes was a small fancy looking suitcase in Sona's hand.

She placed the suitcase on the table in front of Ryo and opened it. Inside were 14 neatly arranged chess pieces, all of which are pure white. It also seemed to be missing the queen piece.

"This are Evil Pieces used to reincarnate other beings to Devils" said Sona as she took out a rook. "Shall I explain their overall function or should I just get on with the reincarnation?"

"Explanation please" replied Ryo.

"~Fu fu very good."

Sona then began her short yet precise explanation.

Each Evil Pieces have different functions and value depending on their classes

Queens- 9 pawns worth. Has all the characteristics of the other piece. Powerfully balanced and considered as the strongest piece in the game

Rook- 5 pawns worth. Gains superhuman strength and toughness. Downside is having relatively poor agility.

Bishop- 3 pawns worth. Gains enhanced magical abilities, a typical mage in terms of strengths and weakness. Downside is their inefficiently high energy consumption, leading to them going empty fast.

Knight- 3 pawns worth. Speed demons with high attack power. Weakness lies on their relatively fragile defenses. By crippling their legs, they become squishy punching bags.

Pawn- 1 Pawn worth, duh. Capable of gaining the strength of the other pieces under certain conditions. Their main weakness is their lack of any particular strength.

There is also the fact that a person's value, skill and potential can greatly affect how many pieces are required to reincarnate him/her.

A person who consumed 5 pawn pieces is much stronger than a person who only consumed 1.

"Ho... Its almost like a video game" said Ryo

"If you find it easier to understand it that way, then you are free to interpret it as such." said Sona.

"So, what piece are you planing to use on me?" asked Ryo in anticipation.

"I plan on abusing your strengths. Since you and your sacred gear seemed to be built on a defense heavy fighting style, then I'll be making you into a rook"

"Oh! A tank huh? Sounds interesting. Lets do it!" replied Ryo who couldnt hide his excitement.

"~Fu fu fu. So be it then." said Sona.

They cleared some space by moving the fancy furnitures aside.

Ryo then took a knee in front of Sona while she held 2 rooks in her hand.

"Let's begin." said Sona

A bluish magic circle appeared underneath Ryo and Sona.

"**I, Sona Sitri, command by my name,**

**To thee, Hebikami Ryotaro.**

**To allow thy soul to descend to this Earth once more.**

**To become my demon slave.**

**As your new master, I grant you with new life!**"

Suddenly, the room began to shake, causing the to ladies to panic.

"What's happening?!" asked Tsubaki as she held the wall for support.

"I dont know! Reincarnation wasnt suppose to be this violent!" replied worried Sona.

On the other hand, Ryo kept his kneeling position. He had a feeling something like this would happen.

Without warning, one rook in Sona's hand began flying over Ryo... Then it was joined by a bishop and 3 pawns that shot out from their holding case.

The pieces changed from white to blue, then they phased into Ryo one by one. First the rook, then the bishop and finally, the 3 pawns.

After that, there was silence.

The 2 women were obviously in shock at what just transpired in front of them.

Ryo, on the other hand, was quite pleased on the recent events.

He stood up and gripped his fist. Indeed, he felt quite a lot of power pulsing through his veins. While it was nothing compared to what he once had as God, it was still much greater than what he had a few minutes ago.

"Ho... So this is a Devil... Not bad."

Looks like things are about to get interesting.

-:-


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Recruitment and Enlightenment

-:-

**Morning**

**The road towards Kuoh Academy**

Things have been moving too fast for Hebikami Ryotaro.

3 days have passed since his reincarnation as a Devil and based on the reactions of Sona Sitri and Shinra Tsubaki, it was far from normal.

It is a well known rule that one person can only have 1 type of Evil Piece. A pawn will always be a pawn, knights will always be knights, and so on and so forth.

This is not some random rule, but an iron clad rule set by the creator of the pieces themselves. It is not something anyone can just break when they feel like it.

But then again, Ryo is the living proof that such a thing is possible.

If Ryo is correct, the creator probably placed a lot of features into the Evil Pieces and only told everyone a part of it. This is probably one of those.

Its like giving a 10 year old kid a tank and telling him that its just a simple tricycle.

What an irresponsible creator.

If that is the case, then the question changes from **how can it be possible** to **why is it unheard of**?

Why has no one else pulled off Ryo's impossible feat?

The explanation lies with what Ryo has accomplished in the past.

If the number of Evil Piece consumed is a sign of one's potential, then how can a few pieces reflect someone who has successfully achieved Godhood once?

His potential for growth is already beyond question. The heights he can reach is already without doubt.

He has stood at the summit once in the past. Surely he is capable of doing it again.

All he needs now is a new direction

However, it seems that the path God chose is a very questionable one indeed.

At the moment, Ryo is walking to school with a light novel in hand. It is a certain light novel about a certain guy that is inherently unlucky and a certain magical index that carries 109 thousand magical grimoires.

It is your typical highschool harem fanfare, full of echi cliches and many other nonsense found in the anime industry. Despite so many downsides, it remains as one of the most popular light novels to date due to its solid plot and action filled chapters.

At least that's what the internet said about it.

After reading half of the series in 1 sitting, Ryo came to question a certain thing about Japanese culture.

"_Do people really fall in love that fast?"_

It seemed to be a recuring theme in the light novel.

Misfortune Guy T with a right hand that nullifies anything supernatural in nature, saves Nun Girl I from some baddies at the cost of his physical well being and memories.

Girl I falls in love with Misfortune Guy T soon after.

This process also repeats with Electrical Girl M, Shrine Maiden A, etc.

Ryo understands the concept of falling in love with the opposite sex to a certain degree, but he is baffled by the ridiculously short time it requires.

Is it because his understanding of love is too outdated for this modern world? Or is it because the light novel he is reading is a work of fiction and should not be used a basis for anything?

He knows not what to believe anymore.

"_*sigh*... It would be nice if I could experiment on it..."_

And after 5 minutes of walking, he got exactly what he wished for.

While he was taking his regular route to school, he overheard some voices in one of the alleyways.

"Let go of her you bastard!" said a voice that belonged to a pretty boyish girl with shoulder length blue hair and equally bluish eyes.

Behind her was another girl with long wavy snow white hair and blue-green eyes.

He knows these girls because they are both targets for Sona's recruitment scheme. The blue haired tomboy is Yura Tsubasa while the white haired girl is Hanakai Momo. Both are first years of Kuoh Academy.

Surrounding the two girls are 4 tough looking men, complete with tattoos and an unrefined manner of talking. Typical delinquents in every sense of the word.

"Oh! We've got a feisty one here!" said delinquent number 1

"Now now. Dont be like that. We just want to get acquainted with you ladies" followed delinquent number 2

"How about you 2 join us? We've know a good place just around the corner." said delinquent number 3

Delinquent number 4, a fairly large man with bulging muscles, guards the entrance to the alley. Due to his presence, most people simply walks by despite knowing full well what is happening.

"_Seriously... Is this dont-want-to-get-involve attitude common in Japanese culture? ... How spineless..."_

Ryo then realizes how often he has experienced a fair bit of negative emotion during his 50 year stay in the world.

Frustration

Rage

Arrogance

The desire to assert his dominance

But the most prominent of all is the desire to inflict unrestricted violence at the target of his intense emotion. It reminds him of his time as God when he was quite merciless.

Read the Old Testament for full detail of his unreasonableness.

Maybe its because of the light novel he is reading, or maybe its his annoyance for the inactive Japanese mindset, but Ryo felt that it he must become a white knight and save the damsels in distress.

Besides, he is obliged to help those two specifically for obvious reasons.

"_Its been a while since I dispense unreasonable violence upon my flock... fu fu fu. ~Im such a bad god"_

He casually approaches delinquent number 4.

"Hey bro, there's nothing to see here. Turn around and walk away" said delinquent number 4, much to Ryo's shock.

"Oh? What will happen if I refuse to follow your advice?" asked Ryo

"Then I will have to rough youKYUUUU~ " said delinquent 4 but got interrupted as Ryo smashed his balls in with a kick to the groin.

A wise man once said: "A man is most vulnerable when he is gloating", hence Ryo's perfectly timed attack to the groin.

As delinquent number 4 bent over due to obviously painful reasons, Ryo used both hand to grab him by the head and performed a painful headbutt, breaking his nose in the process.

Ryo followed with a second headbutt to shatter number 4's teeth, then executed another headbutt in order to knock him out. Just to be sure, Ryo added another one for the hell of it.

Ryo allowed number 4 to collapse near the road for everyone to see, then calmly entered the alleyway.

The 3 seemed to have noticed his presence, thus abandoning the girls and charged at him.

"Eat this!" said delinquent number 3 as he throws a punch.

Ryo took it in the face, but not without launching a crippling blow to number 3's throat.

FYI: the throat is one of the weakest part of the human body.

Just try placing your thumb on it and apply a bit of pressure. Uncomfortable isnt it?

Imagine how much damage a full force blow can do.

Number 3 choked from the pain and went down on his knees. This pain was quickly replaced by mind breaking agony as Ryo smashes his knee into number 3's face, shattering his nose in the process.

"_It seems that I have nose fetish today... How odd..."_

While mussing about this weird awakening in him, a scream snaps him back to reality.

"WATCH OUT!" screamed Yura Tsubasa

Due to his negligence, Ryo was too late to realize that number 2 had already thrusted his left hand at him.

Ryo blocks with his left hand, only to realize that number 2 is armed with a simple pocket knife.

"_...Oh crap... I'm not using my shield..."_

Number 2 impales the knife into Ryo's arm.

Ryo counters by grabbing number 2's extended arm, and by applying a bit of supernatural strength, he forcefully bends it 90 degrees to the direction to where it shouldnt bend.

"AAAAAAARGH!" number 2 screamed in agony.

"KYAAA!" Hanakai Momo gasped in horror at the violence she has witnessed

An understandable reaction for someone who has been living in a peaceful environment her entire life.

Unfortunately for her, Ryo was not going to spare her any piece of mind. He doesnt enjoy getting hurt, and he preferred to make his displeasure known to his enemies.

Ryo threw a full power punch into number 2's face, shattering most of his facial bones in the process. Gotta love the feeling of being superior.

"Hey! What's going on here!" said a manly voice behind Ryo.

From the looks of it, his rampage has attracted a couple of police officers. About time they did something useful.

Noticing this, delinquent number 1 makes tries to escape into the alleyway.

"_Not on my watch!"_

Ryo pulled out the knife impaled in his arm and hurled it at the fleeing delinquent. It landed its mark right up his butt hole, causing the poor guy to drop to his knees in agony.

At this point, Ryo is having a hard time choosing his next course of action. He can either continue with his nose bashing fetish or he could show mercy to delinquent number 1 and stop the violence.

On one hand, the feeling of breaking bones and mangling flesh is surprisingly fun. As a person who was once God, Ryo has been using his magic as his primary means of offense for thousands of years. The feeling of using his own body to deal damage is quite refreshing.

On the other hand, Ryo does feel some pity to delinquent number 1. No man, regardless of race, enjoys having a foreign object shoved up their posterior

"_Well, since the police are already here, I'll let him off this time."_

Ryo decided to abandon breaking number 1's face and checked on the girl's condition.

"Good day fellow Kouh Students. Are you alright?" said Ryo in a cheerful manner.

"Good day my foot! You just got stabbed in the arm! You are NOT okay!" said the panicked Hanakai Momo as she took out a handkerchief and tied it around Ryo's arm.

"It's just a flesh wound. I wont die from so-" replied Ryo

"Quiet" replied Momo with a kind yet forceful voice

"*sigh*... Once Momo enters her mom-mode, no one can defy her. Just do what she wants. " said Yura Tsubasa with a smile.

"So be it." Ryo replied as he left himself to Momo's mercy.

At the same time, about 5 police officers enters the alley to arrest the delinquents. Horribly late as usual.

After carrying out the injured, one of the officers approaches the 3 students.

"I know your injured but we have to take you in for debriefing. Dont worry, we'll patch you up in the station." said the officer.

"Hold on! The guy just saved us from some thugs. He needs to go to the hospital." Tsubasa intervened, causing the officer to be slightly overwhelmed.

Yura Tsubasa has the face of a bishounen straight out of a shoujo manga. Thanks to that, most people feel like a nameless side character in a manga just by interacting with her. The feeling of insignificance is quite scary you know?

"W-well... Even if you say that... It's our SOP you know?" replied the overwhelmed guard

"And besides, I didnt where were the police when we were being harassed?" Tsubasa continued to assert her dominance over the police to the point that Ryo

"Thats enough my kohais. Let the police do their work." said Ryo before Tsubasa could continue her onslaught.

"But-"

Worry and hesitation can be seen in the eyes of both Tsubasa and Momo. An understandable reaction, seeing how their savior was suddenly taken away along with the criminals.

"My name is Hebikami Ryotaro. 2nd years student and the newly appointed gofer of the Student Council. Kindly tell Vice President Shitori Souna of what happened here. She'll probably kill me later, but your safety is worth it" said Ryo while patting the girls on their shoulders.

Much to Ryo's surprise, he spotted a few things that he did not expect.

Both Yura Tsubasa and Hanakai Momo have the face of someone who has fallen in love at first sight.

Intriguing

Tsubasa took out a handkerchief and placed it on Ryo's face.

"That was some sloppy fighting senpai... But you still looked cool." said Tsubasa with a hint of affection in her voice.

"Dont worry senpai. We'll come back with the Vice President as quickly as possible. Please endure for now." Momo added as both of them grabbed their bag and left in a hurry.

As Ryo joined the police to the station, he couldnt help but confirm his theory.

His understanding of love is truly outdated.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

By lunch time, Sona and Tsubaki arrived at the police station to get Ryo... But not before making Ryo bend over while Sona spanked his butt while using her full demonic force.

Due to Ryo's natural endurance as an earth spirit, high defensive rating due to the Serpents Scales and further improvements upon becoming a devil, Sona's spanking didnt really hurt that much.

However, he decided to pretend that he was in pain to give Sona some peace of mind.

Never the less, being spanked in front of many police officers and other civilians was a very invigorating experience.

Azazel once said that a person who derives pleasure from pain and humiliation is called a Masochist... It might be interesting to try it out some more.

-:-

**Kuoh Academy**

**Lunch Time**

A week has passed since the delinquent incident and Ryo's everyday life took a drastic change.

First up, he suddenly became the Student Council's Disciplinary Officer.

Why?

Because Sona didnt like it that her servants hold an insignificant position. Mind you, Ryo has absolutely no problem of being an errand boy for the SC. Its an interesting experience on its own, but Sona doesnt seem to share his preference.

Second, Ryo has been placed in charge of recruiting Yura Tsubasa and Hanakai Momo into becoming devils.

Why?

Well, here is a little flash back about 5 days ago at the Student Council Room.

* * *

It was afternoon and the SC was working at full swing.

At the time, Ryo was sorting out documents while Sona and Tsubaki were discussing about the discrepancies in budget allocation among the clubs.

Quite suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in" said Sona.

Hanakai Momo poked her head into the door.

"Um... Is Hebikami Ryotaro-sempai present?" said Momo in a shy manner.

"Yes he is... Do you need something from him?" replied Sona, who was clearly not expecting Momo's visit.

"Ah... No not really... We just wanted to check on him."

"We?" Sona asked

"Yes. Yura-san is also here with me."

From the small opening, they could see Yura Tsubasa leaning by the window. She was surrounded by 4 girls whom you could instantly recognize as her groupies. As expected of a girl with a prince charming-like appeal.

Never the less, Yura made a small wave to express that her intention was the same as Momo.

Sona descended into silence for a few moments.

While Ryo has only known Sona for a very short time, he knows her well enough to guess that her mind is going overdrive as of the moment.

"Um... It's alright if he is too busy..." said Momo who was clearly misunderstanding Sona's sudden silence.

"Oh no no. It's fine. Just wait outside for a minute or so. I'll send him out once we're done." replied Sona.

"Thank you" Momo bowed as she closed the door.

Sona quickly approached Ryo and began whispering commands to him

"Ryo, I'm leaving you in charge of recruiting Yura Tsubasa and Hanakai Momo to our fold. You are free to use whatever method at your disposal to get the job done" whispered Sona, much to Ryo's confusion

"Why me? I thought you already have a plan in motion?" asked Ryo.

"Truth be told, my plan is quite impractical in our current condition. I have no personal connections with either of them to use as leverage, so I cant just approach them so carelessly" said Sona as she massages her forehead. "You on the other hand have a very powerful anchor that cemented your existence in their lives"

"Saving them from delinquents... Yes, I understand what you mean"

"Good. Right now, their emotions for you is somewhere between love and simple admiration. Use this opportunity to tempt them." said Sona with an evil glint in her eyes

"~Oh! To think I get to seduce people to the dark side so early in my devil career! Looks like I'm moving up the hierarchy earlier than I expected"

"Can you do it?"

"Fu fu fu! I dont mean to brag, but my landlord constantly praises me for my complete lack of social skills! I couldnt even take a candy from a baby without resorting to lethal force!" Ryo said in a boastful manner.

Sona facepalms.

"*sigh*... This a disaster in the making... For now, I need you to be with them as much as possible. Have lunch with them, walk them home and go out with them during the weekend. The foundation of tempting someone is based on trust. Do you understand?"

"Sir yes sir!" Ryo replied with a salute.

"Then go and make me proud"

* * *

Well, that was what happened 5 days ago.

Right now, Ryo is eating lunch at his usual spot underneath a shade of a tree. Unlike the past, he is now sharing this spot with Momo and Tsubasa. These past few days, he has shared lunch with both of them.

A big improvement if he says so himself.

"By the way Hebikami-sempai, I've been meaning to ask you something" said Tsubasa while she ate her sandwich.

Quite a manly choice of food.

"I'll answer whatever questions you throw at me under one condition" replied Ryo.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Both of you shall call me Ryo from now on. No honorifics. Just Ryo." replied Ryo. "It's tiresome to say my last name and I get goosebumps every time someone calls me Ryo-san."

"Thats a bit..." the embarrassed Momo murmured

"Sempai. That's pretty bold of you" said Tsubasa as she placed her arms over Ryo's shoulders. "If I didnt know better, I'd think that you are trying to get as close as possible to both of us. I would even go as far as say that you have some ulterior motive."

"Pretty much." Ryo replied so bluntly, much to the girls surprise

"And why is that?" asked Momo with a hint of distrust in her voice.

True enough, it is a common assumption among the females that a man's only reason to get close to them is to seduce them to having sex. It's not a wrong assumption, but it not completely right either.

From the looks of it, both Momo and Tsubasa have started to think along that line of thought.

"_I got them right where I want them!"_

Ryo stood gallantly in front of them

"Listen and listen well you two. I might not look like it but I..." Ryo paused for dramatic effect.

It worked like a charm as the girls held their breath for his next words.

"Have not made any friends for the past 6 months!" said Ryo in a boastful manner.

As expected, the girls had their jaws hit on the floor.

"You 2 are the first people who have spoken to me just for the sake of speaking to me. I will do everything in my power to become your friends!"

SILENCE

""HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"" both Momo and Tsubasa laughed out loud.

"Oi! It's mean to laugh at others misery! I was quite lonely this past few months you know?" said Ryo.

"Ha ha ha. We're sorry Ryo-sempai, but that was just really funny!" said Momo as she caught her breath. "But dont worry. We'll be your friends from now on."

"Yeah. What she said. Though its still a bit too much to call you without the honorifics, so you'll have to do with Ryo-kun." replied Tsubasa.

Ryo was so happy that he hugged the 2 girls at the same time, causing both girls to blush profusely

"Awesome! You have no idea how happy I am right now! I'll be in your care, Momo! Tsubasa!"

"L-like wise. Ryo-sempai" said Momo in a soft and bashful voice.

"Y-yeah... Ryo-kun" Tsubasa followed suite with an otome-ish voice ill suited for her cool facade.

Thanks to that, Ryo became much much closer to both Momo and Tsubasa. He is quite confident that the seeds of affection has been planted within the 2

FYI: Ryo's actions were taken straight from a shoujo manga where the female protagonist eventually fell in love with a carefree man.

Even Ryo's hug at the last part was copied from the said shoujo manga.

"_And Azazel said that men who read Shoujo mangas are losers! I just might have the knack for this devil business!"_

-:-

**Later that day**

It is finally time for Ryo to fulfill his duty as a Disciplinary Officer of the student council.

Normally, he would make a circuit around the campus in search of students who are breaking the law.

He would prefer to go home with Momo and Tsubasa but both had prior engagements they needed to keep.

Its a shame, but it cant be helped.

For now, he concentrates on the task at hand.

It might be cheating, but he decided to use a simple Earth Spirit spell to search for rule breakers.

He approached a nearby tree and placed his palm on its trunk. He closed his eyes and began _listening _to his fellow earth spirits present in the soil and plants. Thanks to this, he instantly spotted 3 individuals hiding at the farthest tip of the school campus.

When people make a big effort to hide themselves, they normally have something that they dont want others to see.

Ryo moves through the forest with surprising ease even for a devil.

10 minutes of parkouring through the forest, he spotted his targets. He knew these 3 by name simply because Sona placed them at the top spot in his must-discipline list.

He stealthily approached them while they were busy reading their magazines.

"Hyoudou, Matsuda and Motohama of the perverted trio. Still up to the old tricks even after the last time... You guys never learn" said Ryo, surprising the 3 in the process.

Three took their individual combat stance.

"Geh... Its our nemesis, Hebikami Ryotaro." roared Motohama as he adjusts his glasses.

"Damn it! You've only been Disciplinary Officer for 1 week yet you've done so much damage!" Matsuda followed while adjusting his stance to that of the crane from the Karate Kid movies.

"You've confiscated 6 rare treasures from us last time... If you think that we'll sit idly, then you've got another thing coming!" said Hyoudou

"What do you mean by rare treasures? Those were just a bunch of magazines filled with naked women." replied Ryo

"J-just magazines? JUST MAGAZINES?!" roared Hyoudou with righteous fury "We've been merciful and avoided using our full power against you... But that was the final straw!"

""" DEATH TO THE BLASPHEMER!""" roared the Perverted Trio as they charge at Ryo

20 seconds later, the trio have their faces on the ground.

Ryo made sure to leave as little injury as possible, though he did give their manhood a **light** tap. Their pride as men might have suffered some damage that might take time to heal.

Ryo then began gathering their treasures

"Why... Why are you doing this to us? What have we ever done to you?" asked Motohama who was shedding tears of regret

"Sorry about that but VP Shitouri Souna specifically ordered me to keep tabs on you." replied Ryo

"Atleast tell us what you're going to do with our prized possessions! You can atleast give us that small gesture of mercy right?" asked Matsuda

"I'm going to throw them into the incinerator just like the last time." said Ryo

The perverted trio turned into stone as if they stared straight into the eyes of Medusa.

A second later, they scrambled towards Ryo and grabbed his leg

"""WE BEG OF YOU! PLEASE DONT DO IT!""" roared the trio in unison as the groveled.

"H-hey... You're over reacting you know?" said Ryo who was unsure of what to do next.

"No we're not! Those books have accompanied us through our darkest times!" said Motohama

"When we are alone and lonely, these treasures have given us comfort and a sense of peace! Their sentimental value is priceless!" Motohama followed.

"These books are the highest form of art available to us lowly commoners! As a man, surely you understand what I mean!" said Hyoudou, surprising Ryo in the process.

"This is art?" asked Ryo

"Yes it is! This is an art only men can understand! Its only natural that women fail to grasp its beauty!" replied Hyoudou

Ryo opened one of the magazines in order to grasp the nature of this so called art.

"... Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder... Hmm..." said Ryo while he stared at the image of an adult woman who was wearing nothing but a piece of ribbon.

"Isnt she beautiful?" asked Motohama

"I guess..." replied Ryo

"Then what about this girl? Isnt she beautiful as well?" said Matsuda who was showing Ryo another magazine with a teen age girl with relatively small breasts

"Thats true..." Ryo nods in agreement

"Then why are they beautiful? Despite being having nearly no physical similarities, why are they such a pleasure to the eyes?!" asked Hyoudou, which greatly shocked Ryo straight to his core.

By nature, Ryo understood that both images were stimulating to a male's perspective, yet he did not understand why both are beautiful.

It was like comparing the painting Mona Lisa to the architectural masterpiece that is the Taj Mahal. Both are considered the height of human artistic talent and both are considered as masterpieces.

Yet why are they considered as such despite not being the same.

"Y-your right... Why are they beautiful?... I dont understand... They're just women yet they are both beautiful... Why?!" said Ryo as he scratched his head in frustration

Ryo couldnt hide his shock. He thought that he understood humans to a certain degree, yet this incident has led him to realize that his knowledge is still severely lacking.

Hyoudou placed his hand on Ryo's shoulder

"Hebikami-sempai, this is why we do what we do. We are but mere philosophers who are trying to understand the beauty of women." said Hyoudou who looked like the messiah in Ryo's eyes. "We are both confused and lost, but please dont worry. Let us find the answer together"

That was the first time Ryo ever cried. The beauty in Hyoudou's words was like a ray of sunshine after a horrific storm. It was Ryo was able to take a small glims at truth that many have desired.

From that point onward, Ryo became the very first disciple of the perverted trio.

He is now a seeker of perverted enlightenment.

-:-

**A few minutes later**

**Student Council Office**

"_Why! I dont get it! Is the formula wrong? Or did I make a mistake somewhere in the middle? THIS IS SO ANNOYING! "_

Ryo was alone in the SC office and he was hard at work trying to get past his current predicament. With a calculator, book, protractor and a notebook at his disposal, Ryo was crunching numbers at full swing.

Despite his godly knowledge that is capable of solving nearly any mathematical equations known to man, he could not break the code of his current dilemma.

Mind you, Ryo is quite refreshed that there is something he could not understand, but it doesnt change the fact that he is very frustrated that the answer illudes him.

While he desperately racked his brains for an answer, Sona entered the room.

"Just you Sona? Where's Tsubaki?" asked Ryo as he greeted Sona.

"We split up while we were dealing with the clubs in order to save time. The Archery club and the Kendo club has been at each others necks because of the budget allocation. I'm with the Kendo club while Tsubaki is with the Archery club" replied Sona while massaging her temples.

"Just from looking at you, I'm guessing things arent going smoothly"

"More or less... *sigh*"

Sona flopped at the presidents seat.

"By the way, it seems your having a bit of a problem yourself" said Sona.

"This is a personal problem... Though since I've been hitting dead end after dead end, maybe I can ask for your insight?"

"Sure. Let me see what's your problem"

Ryo showed the book that he was working on

"...** What the hell is this!?**" asked Sona with a voice filled with killing intent.

The book Ryo was working on was one of the magazines lent to him by the perverted trio. Naturally, it was filled with enough nudity to instantly raise Sona's blood pressure over the limit

However, every picture of a woman was accompanied with so much mathematical equations that most people would wonder if the writer of the said equations is insane or simply high on drugs.

The numbers were accurate estimates of the woman's height, weight, body mass index, cup size, volume of the breast, the angle of which the breast sways if running at a certain speed, etc.

All of those numbers were to understand the factors of what makes a woman beautiful.

"After talking to the perverted trio, I was forced to come into terms that I understood very little of a woman's charm. To compensate for my lack of aesthetic sense, I tried to gauge it using math, but alas, it ended in complete failure. I should have known that beauty cant be measured in finite quantities. And thus I turn to you for guida-"

Ryo was cut off when Sona landed a body blow filled with demonic power. Clearly, Sona was not holding back since Ryo could feel quite a bit of pain even with his amplified toughness.

He was then subjected to 1000 full powered spankings.

It hurt quite a lot...

To make matters worse, when Tsubaki returned to the SC room and found out about his situation, Ryo was forced to endure an additional 1000 full powered spanking.

Hyoudou Issei did warn Ryo that the pursuit for enlightenment through oppai is filled with pain and suffering. Never the less, it is the path that must be walked on for the greater glory of oppai!

-:-

**2 weeks later**

**A local camping ground outside the city**

For almost a month now, Ryo and the Sona Sitri peerage has more or less come to understand each other.

Ryo knows that in the eyes of Sona and Tsubaki, he is a very smart yet extremely guidable individual who would believe pretty much anything as long as it is explained to him in a fancy manner.

He actually a bit offended in this.

While he was indeed duped quite a fair bit in his life, it only happened when he has absolutely no idea on the subject matter. Once he understands the core idea, he will be completely immune to such misleading words.

In the case of his encounter with the perverted trio, he firmly believes that he was not deceived. He was merely illuminated to the path that he has not explored even when he was still God.

Anyway, Ryo is quite sure that Sona and Tsubaki has a grasp of his views about them

To him, both of them are rigid and extremely strict, yet they show a bit of naivety in certain subjects. A perfect example of this is their violent reaction to the perverted magazine that he brought a while back.

Such reaction befits their age.

However, despite Sona's youth, Ryo deeply respects her ability to think more than 20 steps ahead.

To understand what needs to be done and prepare multitudes of plans to accomplish it while being flexible enough to accommodate for any unexpected bumps along the road, truly an impressive mind Sona has.

She would have made a formidable God if she only had the power.

The reason why Ryo is currently in the camp site is due to Sona's plan.

After 2 weeks of constantly being at the presence of Yura Tsubasa and Hanakai Momo, Sona believed that the time has come for Ryo to recruit the 2 into the peerage.

At the moment, Ryo is walking in between the 2 girls as they followed the small river.

"Hmm... I didnt expect that there was such a beautiful spot so near to the city. I'm impressed Ryo-kun." said Tsubasa as she took off her shoes.

She passed it to Ryo and began walking on the shallow part of the river.

"Cold! Hahaha! Come on in Momo! The water is fine!"

"I'll pass Tsubasa, my skirt is too long. It'll get wet" replied Momo with a smile.

As for their wardrobe, Tsubasa is wearing a brown mini shorts and a red shirt which complements her boyish looks.

Momo, on the other hand, dons a pure white one piece Sunday dress with a matching hat and slippers. It fits the motherly Momo quite well.

"But I am impressed that you know such a romantic spot Ryo-sempai. I guess you really cant judge a book by its cover" said Momo as she basked in the warm sun.

"For some reason, I feel like your insulting me or something" replied Ryo.

"Oh no no no. We just pegged you as a clueless airhead who didnt have a single romantic bone in his body. This is the main reason why we're so surprised." teased Tsubasa

"Ugh! ... While you arent wrong, it still hurts when you say it to my face, you know!" Ryo complained

""Ha ha ha!""

The two laughed in unison.

"Now that's just rude! Since I'm the one that asked both of you out on a date, its obvious that I should make preparations" replied Ryo, who emphasized on the word date.

The effect of the word was instantly felt.

Both girls blushed profusely and was speechless.

"S-so you considered this as a d-d-date... Ha ha ...ha..." said Tsubasa while she scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

"It would have been perfect if you only invited one of us..." said Momo who was equally embarrassed.

"Fu fu fu! While I did my homework on romantic date spots, I actually have no idea what to do beyond that! Considering that I had no idea what **Date** ment until 2 days ago, I must say I did exceptionally well!" boasted Ryo

"Ha ha ha! There you go again Ryo-kun. Just when you made my heart skip a beat, you suddenly say something stupid. That's so like you." said Tsubasa as she grabbed Ryo's hand.

Momo did the same with his vacant hand.

They then passed a few minutes in silence while walking with their arms linked.

It was probably the first romantic event in Ryo's 50 years here on earth.

"_Ho... My pulse is pretty quick and I think I'm experiencing a bit of euphoria. I guess this is what those shoujo manga ment by a blissful moment... Too bad I have to destroy it..."_

Yes... This is actually a part of Sona's plan to recruit the 2 into her peerage.

It may be a bit forceful, but there is no easy way to introduce a couple of people who are used to peace into the supernatural world.

Suddenly, there was killing intent so strong that even the girls were able to feel it.

"**Well well well... What do we have here... 3 little piggies that unwittingly entered the wolves den! How delightful!"** said a male in a sadistic manner

Out of the shadows crawled out a humanoid scorpion with 3 limbs and a large stinger. It was about as large as a normal human being, thus not as intimidating as the last Stray Devil that Ryo fought against. It is quite disgusting to look at though.

"R-Ryo-kun... W-w-what-" Tsubasa could barely speak out of fear.

On the other hand, Momo was so terrified that she couldnt even move.

"A Stray Devil... " whispered Ryo to Tsubasa

"H-huh?" asked Tsubasa in confusion

However, thanks to that, it looked like Tsubasa was able to get some of her cool back.

"Take Momo and run. I'll hold him off." replied Ryo in a calm manner.

"**After being chased by the Gremory for 2 days, it looks like things are starting to look up. I could use some food right now!"**

The humanoid lunged at the 3.

"SERPENT SCALES!"

The dark blue round shield appeared on his left arm.

Ryo charged at the Stray Devil and slammed his shield into its face, blasting it back process.

"RUN TSUBASA! NOW!" roared Ryo while keeping his eyes on his enemy.

From behind, he could hear footsteps moving away from him. A good sign.

"**Tch... That hurt you bastard!"**

Once again, the humanoid scorpion lunged at Ryo with the intention of mutilating him, however-

**GUARD**

The Serpent Scales has already begun its function of increasing Ryo's defenses, thus he could barely anything after receiving the attack

The scorpion let loose a volley of strikes using its claws and stingers, but Ryo successfully blocked each and every one of them with minimal effort.

Ryo then counter attacks

"**ROCK BULLET!**"

A small piece of earth is fired at high speeds and took one of the scorpions limbs in the process.

At that point, Ryo realized a few things about his current situation.

First, Ryo was quite surprised on how strong he has become just by reincarnating into a Devil.

He casted Rock Bullet with the same amount of effort as when he fought the Bear Stray Devil, yet it was strong enough to blow off the Scorpion's limb in one shot. Got to love the magic amplification of the Bishop piece.

That's when Ryo realized another thing... The Scorpion Stray Devil was weak!

It was even weaker than the Bear Stray Devil. If Ryo fought seriously at the get go, he would have killed it in 20 seconds or less.

However, that would be going against Sona's plan, thus Ryo is forced to hold back.

He charged into the Scorpion and sunk his fist into its face.

It launched a flurry of blows in retaliation, but Ryo blocked all of them with ease. Within that flurry, Ryo was able to grab one of its limbs. He then brutally hacked it of using his shield as a cleaver.

By the way, here is a short explanation on how the Serpent Scales work.

The Serpent Scales increases the user's defense by converting the user's power into matter and adding it to the shield's thickness without making it bigger.

If given enough time, the Serpent Scales could even have the amount of matter of a mountain, thus making it incredibly tough.

The main draw back is that whenever the Serpent Scales uses Guard, it increases its weight in proportional to the amount of matter it gains.

If the Serpent Scales ends up with the mass the same as a mountain, then Ryo wont be able to lift it due to its colossal weight.

Never the less, the increasing weight and thickness actually makes the Serpent Scales a perfect battering ram.

Ryo once again charged into the Scorpion Devil and pinned it into a nearby tree. From there, Ryo began raining blow after blow with reckless abadon.

The strength he gained from the Rook piece was no joke either. Each time his fist connects with the Scorpion's exoskeleton, he could feel its bones shattering and muscles being pulverized.

The scorpion used it stinger to attack Ryo from behind, but he was able to block it at the expense of letting the scorpion free from being pinned into the tree.

"_I guess its about time to end it"_

Before the Stray Devil could even get far...

"**OVER GROWTH!**"

Countless roots and vines shot out of the ground and bound the scorpion where it stood. Naturally, the scorpion tried to get away by destroying the vines, but the plants growth speed simply overwhelmed its attempts.

A few seconds later, the scorpion was no longer capable of movement.

Ryo calmly approached it.

"**Okay okay! I give up! I wont eat humans ever again! I'll change my ways, so please have mercy! Dont kill me!"**

"... Are those your final words?" Ryo asked in an emotionless manner.

**"Why are you helping humans?! We're both Devils right? We should be sticking together!"**

Ryo wordlessly raised the Serpent Scales up high and mercilessly crushed its head.

FYI: At the moment, the Serpent Scales weight is equal to that of a motorcycle.

Ryo repeatedly slammed his shield into his opponents head to ensure that it is dead.

"*sigh*... That was so unsatisfying..." said Ryo in disappointment.

His enemy was just so weak! It felt like he was stealing a candy from a baby! He even felt guilty destroying it!

"_I better send my thanks to the Gremory peerage. They really helped out on this one"_

This was the totality of Sona Sitri's recruitment plan.

She asked Rias Gremory to lure s Stray Devil into this specific location in order to introduce Yura Tsubasa and Hanakai Momo into their world. At the same time, Sona planned to increase the girls affection for Ryo in a similar manner during the time when he saved them from the delinquents.

"_Seriously, just how far did Sona planned ahead?" _thought the very impressed Ryo. _"Well then, I better finish the job."_

Ryo left the corpse and searched for the 2 girls.

He didnt have to search far since the girls were hiding behind a tree just a few meters away.

"You girls alri-" said Ryo but he was cut off when Momo suddenly leapt into his chest

"I was so scared! So so scared!" Momo cried while she hugged Ryo

"Dont worry. Everything is alright. I'll protect both of you from anything." Ryo gently caressed Momo's head

On the other hand, Tsubasa simply placed her forehead on his shoulder. She wasnt crying, but Ryo could feel her body shaking.

Ryo used his free arm to hug Tsubasa

"_Hm... Women sure are soft... I guess I'm beginning to understand the charms of the female species."_

They remained like that until the girls calmed down.

A few minutes of silence later, Tsubasa broke the ice.

"Ryo-kun... What was that?" asked Tsubasa who was surprisingly calm given the situation.

"That was a stray devil, a being who rebelled against its master and abandon its humanity" replied Ryo

He then gave a brief explanation about stray devils, high class devils and reincarnated devils

"You seem to know a lot about this Ryo-sempai" asked Momo

Once again, Ryo made effective use of a dramatic pause in order to amplify the atmosphere of mystery. Being a Shakespeare fan is finally paying off.

"Sempai?" Momo looked at him questioningly

"*sigh*... This might destroy our relationship, but I guess both of you deserves to know... I used to be human..." Ryo replied while showing them his devil wings. "I am a Reincarnated Devil"

-:-

**Three Days Later**

**Kuoh Academy**

**Student Council Office**

Ryo cant help but wonder if he did anything wrong when he executed Sona's plan.

For the last few days, Ryo has returned to his hermit lifestyle.

After getting used to Momo and Tsubasa's company for so long, the sudden loss of contact was quite hard to swallow.

Mind you, Sona did warn him that the 2 might pull away due to his sudden revelation, so he should expect a bit of alone time. But never the less, its pretty lonely being alone.

"*sigh*... I cant even do my research... I guess this is what it means to be depressed" said Ryo as he closed a porno magazine that he was studying.

Across the table was Sona Sitri who clearly not pleased with the magazine.

"Since I feel guilty for making you loose your friends, I'll let that contraband slip just this once." said Sona while massaging her forehead. "By the way, I am truly sorry that it came to this. I take no pleasure in making you experience this."

"No no. I dont blame you. This is a necessary gamble in order to get more members to your peerage. If I was in your position and this option was on the table, I would do the same thing" replied Ryo

"But it still hurts, right?"

"Of course it does. I did just my only friends since coming to this school. But dont let it bother you. I did travel a lot at one point. Parting with friends is something I'm used to" said Ryo, much to Sona's surprise.

"I'm surprised that you dont consider me and Tsubaki as your friends. " replied Sona who had a self depreciating smile on her face.

"It cant be helped. Aside from things related to student council work or devil business, when have you ever talked to me?"

"*sigh*... I guess you're right. But how about Tsubaki? Didnt you get along well the first time you talked to her?" asked Sona

"Just because I was successful in a little small talk doesnt mean that we're friends. Aside from that small chat at the beginning, she is more or less the same as you." replied Ryo.

"I see... Then what is your relationship to us?"

"Master and co-workers." said Ryo which further depresses Sona. "Bare in mind though, I will perform my duties as your loyal subject. After all, I dont have any reason to hate this current working relationship"

"In short, I have your loyalty but not your friendship... I guess it cant be helped given how stiff both me and Tsubaki are."

"Yup. It simply cant be helped."

And then there was silence.

Mind you, there is no bad blood between between Ryo and Sona. They simple have incompatible personalities.

One is a free spirit while the other one is as rigid as a statue, but neither has any problems with this arrangement.

For now, this status quo is acceptable.

After a few minutes of silence, Tsubaki entered the room.

"Fuku-kaichou, we have guests waiting outside. May I show them in?" asked Tsubaki with a very rare and very small smile on her face.

Sona, who seemed to have understood the meaning of that small gesture, also displayed a small smile on her face.

"Send them in" replied Sona.

Tsubaki exits the room then quickly returned, bring Tsubasa and Momo along with her, much to Ryo's surprise.

"They tried to enter the room but lost their courage multiple times. ~Fu fu fu. It was quite fun to watch" said Tsubaki with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"S-Sempai! You dont have to tell them that!" said the flustered Momo

Tsubasa, who was blushing quite a bit, was uncharacteristically silent.

"Relax you two." said the greatly entertained Sona. "I assume you two are here to visit Ryo?"

Momo and Tsubasa made a serious face. It was pretty clear what their concerns are.

"Before you start, I would like to clarify something. My name is Sona Sitri, a high class devil. Shinra Tsubaki and Hebikami Ryotaro are both reincarnated devils who serves under me." said Sona, shocking the Momo and Tsubasa.

At her cue, the members of the Sona peerage revealed their wings.

"Now that you know, you can speak freely." said Sona.

The 2 looked at each other, as if confirming their intent. After a nod, Tsubasa stepped forward.

"Ryo-kun already told us some of the details, so we a bit of an idea what devils are. What we want to ask is simple: Are devils evil?" asked Tsubasa with conviction.

"Hmm... To answer that question, I would like to ask you something. Are sharks evil? Just because they have been known to attack humans, does that make them evil?" asked Sona.

"Well no... Their are animals after all... They dont go out their way to attack humans" replied Tsubasa.

"Then what about humans? Are they evil? They have been known to attack and kill their own kind, after all." asked Sona.

"Isnt that a bit generalized? Majority of the humans have no intention of harming others" said Momo with conviction.

"Then there is the answer to your question. Please dont generalize devils just because of what you have seen or heard from literature and movies. Most of us have no intention of causing any harm to others." replied Sona

"But what about the whole trade-your-soul-for-power thing? Do devils really do that?" asked Tsubasa.

"In the long forgotten past, yes. Nowadays, this practice is abandoned simply because, like I stated earlier, most devils have no intention of harming anyone. It is similar to how death and glory was popular during Japan's waring states area, but such belief doesnt apply to our current generation." replied Sona

Once again, Ryo cant help but be impressed by Sona's ability to think so far ahead.

At the moment, all of her answers were straight forward and to the point. It's as if she had already practiced her response many days prior to this... And odds are, she probably did anticipate all of the girl's questions and prepared a response for each.

After a few minutes of the question and answer portion, Sona made her move.

"By the way, I know this might come as a surprise, but I would like to offer both of you an offer of becoming a Reincarnated Devil" said Sona

Naturally, both Momo and Tsubasa didnt expect that one. After a bit of silence, Tsubasa spoke up

"You mean just like Ryo?" asked Tsubasa

"Quite simply, yes. Aside from gaining combat powers, both of you can potentially live forever" replied Sona.

""EH?!"" the girls said in unison.

"I thought that might interest you. Devils have extremely long life spans. The most common reason for fatalities is either combat or accidents... And even the first one isnt really common nowadays." replied Sona, then suddenly she breaks out into a smile that normally ment that she has an offer you cant refuse. "Besides, I think it would be good for both of you to spend eternity with someone special"

Sona tilted her head ever so slightly towards Ryo's direction, causing both Momo and Tsubasa to blush profusely.

Ryo is not like those donkan protagonist common in mangas who cant understand the feelings of others even if his life depended on it. He can more or less gauge Momo and Tsubasa's feelings for him.

Never the less, he resoluted himself to act like donkan protagonist simply because he lacks knowledge. He doesnt know how to respond in a humanly manner towards such advances.

Maybe in the future, he'll answer such feelings, but for now, he is a stupid guy who cant understand a womans heart.

At the moment, he decided to pretend that he didnt understand what Sona ment.

"You dont have to give your answers right now. Think about it for as long as you want, then come back to me with your answer." said Sona

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Two days later, Hanakai Momo and Yura Tsubasa joined Sona Sitri's peerage as her Bishop and Rook respectively.

-:-


End file.
